• by Colin Kirkland , May 22, 2023

In a Facebook post, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that WhatsApp users can now edit their messages within 15 minutes of pushing Send -- bringing one of the most anticipated features on the platform to fruition.

“From correcting a simple misspelling to adding extra context to a message, we're excited to bring you more control over your chats,” Meta wrote in a blog post.

Over the coming week, all global WhatsApp users will be able to edit what they wrote by pressing and holding on the message then tapping the “Edit” option to change a message from “Sorry I'm gonna be late, my dad just pooped on the floor again” to “Sorry I’m gonna be late, my dog just pooped on the floor again,” per Meta's example.

The altered message will have an “edited” tag next to the time stamp to note the change but won’t include correction history, as other users won't be able to see previous versions of an edited message.

“As with all personal messages, media and calls, your messages and the edits you make are protected by end-to-end encryption,” states Meta, citing WhatsApp's key selling point.

In the past, users were forced to delete their undesired message within 60 hours or send a separate correction. Meta is competing with other encrypted messaging apps like Telegram and Signal, which both allow users to edit messages.